While at Jump Festa 2013 this weekend, I had the chance to check out the 3DS remake of Dragon Quest VII.

This is a remake of the seventh Dragon Quest game—which was originally released for the PlayStation back in 2000—seems to fit the console's format very naturally. The graphical upgrade is very pretty and allows for characters to be much more expressive. The controls are intuitive, and anything you don't pick up immediately, the game will show you how to do.

The initial plot is a little confusing at first and ends up with you running around talking to random people trying to find the one person or thing that will make the story progress. Sadly, I took so much time just trying to get out of the first village that I never got a chance to try out the combat at all.

As a remake, the game has a bunch of new features like new enemies, new high-rank classes, and network functions. Unfortunately, none of these were really accessible in the short time I had to play the game.

All in all, the DQVII remake looks good. It's based on a solid game, so, barring a developer meltdown during the porting process, the remake should be solid as well. While the portable aspect of the game is a selling point, personally, I don't feel an overt need for the game to be remade. Then again, Final Fantasy IV is getting its umpteenth re-release so I guess when it comes to what I feel I need and what Square Enix seems to think I need, we're not exactly on the same page.

Dragon Quest VII is scheduled for release on February 2nd, 2013 on the 3DS in Japan.

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